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May 29, 2011

Our Best Bites' Dinner Rolls

These have been declared the World's Best Dinner Rolls by the authors of Our Best Bites. That was a pretty smart move on their part to name their rolls the world's best, because with a title like that, you can't help but give them a try. Did they live up to that title?

These were incredible. They taste just like another roll that I make, that I absolutely love. They are so soft and very very easy to make. They were great plain, with butter, with honey and I think they would make a perfect little sandwich with some ham and cheese. The recipe recommends using whole milk and when I went to the store, I planned on buying whole milk, but the smallest carton they had was a one gallon size and I was planning on cutting the roll recipe in half, so I couldn't justify buying a whole carton of whole milk when I was only planning on using one cup and not knowing of anything else I could make with the whole milk. So, I didn't buy it and I ended up using 2% and these rolls were amazing. If they taste even better than this with the whole milk, then I have got to try it, because I was so impressed with these. I will have to look for some other recipes that require the use of whole milk, so I don't feel bad about buying a carton and so none goes to waste.

*They recommend whole milk, but if you're in a pinch 2% milk will work, but try to stay away from 1% or skim

Combine milk, 1/2 c. sugar, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts into salty-sweet perfection. Remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm (this is really important, because if it is too hot, it will kill the yeast).

While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tablespoon of sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. If the yeast hasn't bubbled, you'll need to repeat this step with new yeast.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups of flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes. Add beaten eggs. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft - it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. (If you add too much flour, these rolls will be heavy and dense). Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half. Spray two 9x13-inch glass pans with cooking spray. Pat first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut into 12 equal-sized pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan. Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls. Eat one now while it's still hot!!

Jenn's Notes: I cut this recipe in half and got 12 rolls. I used 2% milk, 2 eggs and 4 cups of flour total. When you are done mixing, the dough is still pretty sticky, but it firms up during the rising process and was very easy to work with. I used my kitchen scale to ensure that each roll was the exact same size, but if you don't have one of those, don't worry, just eye-ball it. During the second rise, my rolls took longer than 30 minutes, more like 45 minutes. So, plan a little extra time, just in case. These rolls were still delicious and very soft the next day, but I couldn't tell you about the 3rd day, because I didn't have any left! ***Update - I have made these rolls a lot since this post, at least a few times a month. They have become my new go-to roll recipe, because they are so easy and turn out perfect every time. I have made them with both 2% milk and whole milk and I think they are delicious both ways!***

81 comments:

Renee at Kudos Kitchen by Renee has a recipe for English Muffin Toast Bread that calls for milk (I use whole) Her post was done on Dec. 15/2010 andMegan at What's Megan Making has a recipe for her English Muffin Toast Bread that calls for milk as well, just more. Her post was done on Feb. 4/2009I've made both often, both are very good (if you like english muffins, you'll love this bread.

Wow, these look delicious! I'm a sucker for homemade breads of any kind. I have a good vanilla bean cupcake recipe that calls for whole milk, but probably not enough to justify buying the gallon container!

I have made these twice now and passed the recipe to my sister who is making them as I type. We LOVE these rolls.

Whole milk will work for any recipe calling for milk. Unless it is a low fat recipe or specifically calls for a certain type of milk, it shouldn't matter in most recipes. I have used 2%, skim and whole milk at different times over the years in recipes that only say "milk". Never found or tasted a difference in my 25+ years of baking.

I have a great clam chowder recipe requiring whole milk of you would like it...Because it's a cream based soup I think the whole milk makes the difference. It's also a fabulously easy recipe all things considered. Let me know if you are interested!

I've seen these on OBB, and have been wanting to make them, but I am lactose intollerant, so buying whole milk is not an option, in fact, the only milk I have on hand is almond milk. I will have to be brave and try it one day with almond milk...maybe. :)

I have not yet tried freezing the dough, but I have been wanting to experiment with it. When I do, I will be sure to come back and update this post. If you try it, I would let them do the first rise, then form them into balls and freeze them on a cookie sheet. When they are firm enough, I would transfer them to a zip-lock bag. Then, when you are ready to use them, I would get them out and let them do the 2nd rise, then bake!

Hi! I wanted to make them tomorrow but I wanted to make sure I did this right, I want to half the recipe and I checked your note about using 2 eggs and 4 cups of flour. So I wanted to make sure before I had a disaster!1 c. whole milk*1/4 c. plus 1/2 Tbl. sugar, divided1/6 c. unsalted butter1 tsp. kosher salt1 pkgs. (2 1/2 tsp.) active dry yeast1/3 c. warm water4 c. all-purpose flour, divided2 beaten eggs

Or did you keep everything the same except for the flour and eggs? Thank you so much in advanced!

I can't wait for you to try these amazing rolls! For 1/2 batch, I only use 2 1/4 tsp. yeast, but 2 1/2 would work too. For the butter I use just over 2 1/2 Tbl. Other than that, the measurements you have above are exactly what I do! Come back and let me know how they turn out! - Jenn

Hi!! O.M.G.!!! They are buttery puffy heaven! They are super addictive so I'm glad I only made a half batch! Thank you so much for following up :) I'm new to your blog and I truly love everything I've made so far!!

I am so disappointed! I have never made rolls before and I thought this looked pretty easy. Everything was going so well until I tried to separate them into two loaves and make them into rolls. The dough just stuck to everything!! Including my hands. Does anyone know what I might have done wrong or have any tips on how to shape them into balls? I am totally new to cooking and baking and would appreciate any help!!

It sounds like the dough could have used a little extra flour. It's hard to know exactly how much to add when you are just starting out, but once you figure out how the dough should be, you will get perfect rolls every time! If the dough is a little sticky when you try to shape them, you can either flour your hands or you could spray you hands with cooking spray. That should keep the dough from sticking to your hands too much. Don't give up - you just have to keep trying until you get it right! - Jenn

I have always been taught that you can use honey and sugar in the same way in yeast breads. Although I have not tried substituting honey for sugar in this recipe, I do have another recipe where I use sugar instead of honey and it works out perfectly. So, I would image it would work just fine with these rolls. You could always make a half a batch for your first try just to see. I have never used agave. Come back and let me know if you try it -Jenn

I have never tried this particular recipe without eggs, but I do have a very similar roll recipe to this one that does NOT use eggs. If you would like the other recipe, I would be happy to email it to you (eatcakefordinner@digis.net) - Jenn

Using whole milk vs 2% milk doesn't affect the taste, but more so the texture. Real butter, whole milk and the addition of eggs makes them less dense, lighter and softer textured. It's the fat content that is key to softness. My grandmother made rolls using shortening, always. She swore by it.

Katie - One of the reasons why these rolls are so easy is because you do NOT have to knead the dough. After the first rise, when I dump the dough out onto my counter, I knead about two or three times just to make the dough easier to roll out into a rectangle. -Jenn

I just have to come back and tell you that I've passed this recipe on to many people, and they all love it! These are hands-down the best rolls I've ever made! So light, fluffy and tasty. . and SOOOO delicious!!

I'm making them again tonight, for an impromptu "fancy" dinner for my husband ;c) Chicken & Dumplings, Green Beans, Mashed, and rolls!! Although, I Haven't been to the store yet and wanted to get the rolls started. . and I only had a Tablespoon of butter left! So, I used 1 Tablespoon of butter, 1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil (that was the last T of that too!) and 1T olive oil. . I know it will probably be totally whacky but I'll let you know how it turns out! The fat is always the first to go in my house. hHahaha . . Oh, and the reason I use 3Tablespoons of Butter is because that's about the same as 1/6 cup. (for the half recipe)

Update: I think that one batch with the variety of oils/butters was the best ones yet! LOL. . I just made a normal bathc (24) and used real butter, and I thought the previous ones were a little better, BUT, I think I may have not used enough flour. They were still great though and they do not last more than 24 hours in my house!

I made a half batch and they were to die for. This was an easy recipe to make and I almost regretted not having to knead the soft and silky dough. Some how I ate two of these massive, soft, perfectly sweet rolls.

More updates from me (LOL) I can't thank you enough for this recipe!!!! I mean to tell ya. . they are AWESOMEEEEE. . . But. . for my personal taste, this is what I prefer - for a whole recipe - I fill up my 1/3C measuring thingy half full with country crock (because I love the flavor) - and I fill the rest up with vegetable oil. This works best for me with the flavor profile. Also, I find that King Arthur unbleached Bread Flour works Best with these rolls. ;c)

I am interested in trying these rolls but all I have for milk is either canned milk or Silk almond milk, do you know if either of those would work? I think with the canned I would need to add 50/50 water but I can't remember and I have used the Silk as regular milk before but not like this and would hate to ruin a good roll, I love my rolls, lol.

Hi Jennifer - I love rolls too!! I have NOT tried these rolls with evaporated milk or with almond milk. If I had to pick between the two, I would go with the evaporated milk, because of the higher fat content (which is why they suggest whole milk). Isn't almond milk lower in fat? Usually evaporated milk is mixed with an equal amount of water as a substitute for milk. So, you could do one cup evaporated milk and one cup of water. If you try it, be sure to come back and let me know if it works! Good luck - Jenn

Thank you so much, I made the rolls on Thursday night (late) and they were divine! We love them! We did not get to enjoy them until dinner time on Friday night but they were worth the wait. I used the 1c canned milk to 1c water ratio and they turned out fine. I don't make it a habit of buying whole milk as I am lactose intolerant but I do find that milk tends to do better when cooking, at times, than the lactose free substitutes.

I just made some rolls, I made a few alterations to the recipe, however, they are the best rolls I have EVER tasted, hands down! Thank you so much for sharing.

If you are interested I used maple sugar in place of sugar, whole wheat flour in place of white, added 1/2 C of gluten to my flour added 1/4 C of ground flax seed to my flour as well. Oh, and for the milk I had some half and half that needed to be used, so that went in instead.

Made these for dinner tonight, I think I may have had the dough too sticky because they would not keep their "bun" shape... basically it turned into one big piece of bread. Do you think not having enough flour was the issue here? We ate them none the less and they tasted good, but next time I would like buns instead of one big chunk of bread! ;-)

I would say they needed more flour. Do you remember how much you added? After the dough has risen and you are forming it into rolls, it should be really easy to work with and shouldn't be that sticky anymore. Did the rolls rise after you shaped them into balls? Is that when they kind of molded all together? Maybe the yeast wasn't fully activated? I have never had a problem with these rolls not being a "roll", but I have had that problem when making homemade soup bowls. I assumed my problem was not enough flour. I suggest trying again. You could always make a half a batch. - Jenn

I used 4 cups, but after rising the dough was pretty sticky, and after the second rising they had sort of molded together. The yeast was working well because the dough had risen enormously! I will try again and when I do I will let you know how I got on!

I had pinned these awhile ago and finally got around to making them for the first time. Simply FANTASTIC!!! My 4 year old son declared these "The best bread in the whole world!" :) I made half a batch and added 2 tsp of italian seasoning to the dough on the recommendation of a friend. Then I served them with a garlic herb butter that I made. We loved it. I'm sure they would also be delicious plain like the recipe with honey or jam. These are some of the most light, tender, soft, beautiful rolls I have ever made. Thank you!

Hi Stacy, I've never tried making this dough in the bread machine, but I don't think it would turn out quite as good. This is a very soft dough and you only mix the dough for a few minutes. The bread machine would knead the dough much longer than needed and it could create a more tough and chewy roll.

I made these last night and split the dough between rolls and cinnamon rolls, they were delicious! I had 18 cinnamon rolls and 7 rolls. Of course I had to try both before I could share with anyone else, you know, just to make sure they tasted good ;)

I am presently overseas (in Egypt) and have attempted yeast rolls twice before with different recipes only to have them fail miserably. I had no trouble with this at all.